Hell in the Club, hailing from Italy, with members of bands such as Elvenking and Secret Sphere, released their first album, Let the Games Begin in 2011, and followed that up in 2014 with Devil on My Shoulder. Album number three, Shadow of the Monster, is now on the way and vocalist Dave Moras and bassist Andy Buratto were thrilled to chat with us here at Screamer and tell us more about their inspiration, the making of the album and more.

Since some readers may not be extremely familiar with the band yet, the obvious place to start is how the band came into existence. According to Moras, this is how it happened: “Actually Andy tried to form a band like this many times before, but never found the right members. In 2009, he started to work on some song ideas with guitarist Picco and his fellow band member Fede. In the meantime, Secret Sphere and Elvenking had the chance to play a show together that year, and that is where we met and discovered that we shared the same passion for hard rock and rock ‘n’ roll- the music we both grew up with! We instantly started to work on the songs and soon developed a strong friendship between the four of us. To play in Hell in the Club is like playing in a ‘real’ band, where we all share the same goals and passions. We write songs together, we have fun. It was ages since we had this amazing feeling.” Having been active with their previous bands, one might suspect that Hell in the Club would have a ready-made fanbase, however Buratto shared that this wasn’t entirely the case. As he shared, “At first we aroused interest from our other bands’ fanbases but since we play a different kind of music, it was pretty obvious that not every power metal or folk metal fan would be interested in Hell in the Club. It was very interesting and challenging to play for a different audience though, and to work hard to make this new band grow.It hasn’t been the easiest thing to do- to step out of the comfort zone and start a new band like this- but things started to move well since the beginning and now that we are ready to release our third album, we are really happy and proud of the steps we have walked since 2009.”

Andy Buratto

As Moras stated previously, the band members have all developed strong friendships with each other, which in turn has helped develop the collaborative songwriting process that the band utilizes. “We were born as a band and we all collaborate in creating the songs,” said Moras. “On this album, me and Andy were the main composers though, but without Picco, we wouldn’t have all the cool things going on! Our drummer Lancs joined us during the recordings, so he didn’t participate in the writing process, but I am sure that he will give us great ideas in the future. His drumming is amazing and it definitely added something to our sound. So it will in the future.”

This album was recorded at Domination Studio in San Marino by producer Simone Mularoni (DGM). The band had worked with Mularoni in the past as well. “For the previous one, we only mixed and mastered it with him, but this time we decided to give him full control of the production,” said Moras. “It’s great to record with Simone… and it’s always a great pleasure both for the marvelous way he works and for the great guy he is. He is a very professional and serious guy but a funny thing I remember is from the bass sessions. I wasn’t there, so I got daily updates from Andy and Simone. On the last day, the guys had lunch together before recording the last song. Probably they had some wine with it. The fact is that I received this video where they were both laughing their asses off, listening the the bass sound, and they were so enthusiastic (drunk?) But hey, it was the very last day! And the result was amazing anyway!”

Both Moras and Buratto also took the time to talk about a few of the songs on the album. DANCE!: “DANCE! is a song that just came to my mind one day- a spark in the dark, let’s say.” said Moras. “A powerful riff, a melodic, simple and catchy chorus. Just fun and heavy rock’n’roll. A song dedicated to how much we are attached to our roots- to the times when this music was popular and great. A salute to all the ones who still live in the 80’s and 80’s like us!” Le Cirque des Horreurs: “I got the idea of this song while waiting to enter a live club before a show. There was all these people, and everybody reminded me of someone else I met before in my life. And this is where I got the idea of the circus- of all these sideshow freaks placed there just to fill a gap, to act like somebody else, to live a pre-owned life. Wicked!” Shadow of the Monster: “This song explores our heavy side,” shared Buratto. “After all, we are also heavy metal fans, and I think it’s one of our strongest tracks. Energetic, heavy and super melodic as well. It’s gonna be complete madness when we play it live!” Appetite: “This song is dedicated to all the musicians out there; to the appetite we all feel for writing and playing music, and for going on stage. The structure of this song is pretty different from our other songs and it has a very interesting central piece with piano and vocal harmonies- our personal homage to the music of Queen!”

The album includes a cover version of the song Money Changes Everything by The Brains, which Cyndi Lauper also performed in 1984. According to Buratto, this idea came from bandmate Picco: “He has this passion for arrangements in general. He goes really crazy when it comes to arranging our songs- in a good way of course! He just comes up with the coolest ideas and that is a great point for us. Anyway, he also loves to rearrange other songs and in his spare time, he recorded a demo version of this track. I remember going to his place- he let me listen to this song and I said, ‘What the hell is that? A new song?’ And then he put on Cyndi Lauper’s version. I instantly thought we should add it to the album, and that’s what happened!”

Buratto shared how excited the band are about the release of Shadow of the Monster. “For the first time, I think we have made a ‘real’ album! The first one was great, but even if we had 10 years of experience in the business with our previous bands, it was like making a real debut, so it is still a bit naive in our opinion. Then Devil on My Shoulder came and through a pretty hard recording process, we delivered thirteen songs where we tried to overcome the debut. Now with this one, it was so easy to come up with nine tracks in a very short period of time. Was it the inspiration? Was it the experience? I don’t know. All I know is that it has never been easier to write and record an album, and we feel that the result is awesome.”

As the band sets out to promote their album, the boys will be starting an Italian tour, including some club shows and summer festivals. Unfortunately there is nothing on the calendar yet for America according to Buratto: “At the moment we don’t have anything planned, but of course we would really like to play in the US. So far we made two long tours in Italy and Europe, but we are missing the rest of the world! We are making little steps all the time, so I hope that soon things will move a bit for Hell in the Club also in America, which is the country that gave birth to rock n’ roll in the end!”

While America anxiously awaits the arrival of Hell in the Club, thanks to the power of the internet, American fans can at least get their hands on the music, even on vinyl if they are lucky! Burrato closes the interview with this: “Well, one thing we haven’t mentioned yet is that this time the album will be also printed in a limited vinyl edition, so for all the vintage lovers out there, be sure to check it out! And we hope to see all of the US rockers on stage soon! Rock on!”